A Film That I Made

[Ace 51]

Very good; however, the beginning didn't contrast well between his shirt and the wall. Looked like a floating head to me. Other than that best film i've seen today.

Again, it is a dream. White, black, and color all mean something in this film. I could have lowered the exposure a biiiiiit, but I wanted this scene to be very bright.

Loved it, good job.

Great job dawg.

Amazing. the music flowed perfectly with some parts (especially the end) and the whole concept of the color switching back as he finds out what he did made it such a smart idea. It was really good and hope you win, you did a very nice job.

Really interesting movie.

The end song was awesome too.

Thank you so much guys, it feels really good getting positive feedback on something that you busted your ass off to make

Can I have the intro song or is it something you made yourself ?

For sure dude, you can use it as long as you credit the artist.

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/218496

[Dojima 7619]

ahaha, bad acting, bad shots, mediocre story idea. More humorous to me than anything, but it was a fair job coming from you, I guess. 5/10 when I take everything into consideration.

[Guest Tasty]

ahaha, bad acting, bad shots, mediocre story idea. More humorous to me than anything, but it was a fair job coming from you, I guess. 5/10 when I take everything into consideration.

Not THAT's an honest fucking review ladies and gentlemen.

[Ace 51]

ahaha, bad acting, bad shots, mediocre story idea. More humorous to me than anything, but it was a fair job coming from you, I guess. 5/10 when I take everything into consideration.

Care to elaborate rather than being a complete dick?

[Oreo 2073]

It's not bad for a amateur, gl with the competition.

[Fruggles 23]

DR everything posted because I was perplexed as to why you chose to simply change exposures as a solution to lighting...

...The two will always be different, and both equally important to a good film. You can't just compensate for one with the other. That and some of the script were really my only complaints, otherwise it looks decent for a first go.

[Dyscivist 5686]

I entered it into a film competition.

Tell me what you think about it.

[Guest J_MaFia]

He got thx for posting it.... So........

[Balthazar 15]

I thought it was pretty cool.

I'm no film expert but a few things,

1. That dude in the beginning offering medicine, terrible actor, monotonous voice, imo, didn't really seem like he was into or happy to be playing that part.

2. Feel like in the garage scene that the panning from jaden across the room to the friends leaving was kind of slow and unnecessary.

3. Some of the lighting was a little intense, very bright, making the white shirt kind of blend with the actor a bit.

Was a cool story bro (sincerely ) I liked it I normally don't have the patience for youtube videos over 5 minutes, good work.

[Dojima 7619]

Care to elaborate rather than being a complete dick?

Watched it again while taking a few notes. The main thing that makes the movie bad is that the payoff isn't great enough. It's actually not too bad until Jaden's anima shows up at around 6:48. The desire to figure out the plot is intriguing enough that one can overlook the low production levels and bad acting until that point.

On the subject of bad acting, it's really quite bad. It's difficult to delineate the exact manner in which the acting is poor. All I can say is that it's not believable in the slightest.

There're also numerous places in the film that have hard transitions or bad focus that I'm sure you know about. A couple things stood out to me that you may not be aware of, however. First is the fact that Jaden's constantly sniffling throughout the movie. I dunno if his character was supposed to have a cold or what, but the constant sniffling grew annoying. Secondly, his character is constantly messing with his hands or crossing and uncrossing his arms. It was unnecessary and a little distracting.

That's pretty much it, I guess. The best shot of the movie was around 3:59. It was artistic and useful. Could have been made better if his friends were looking at him, but the angle of the camera, lighting, and other aspects were good. Wasn't tryin' to be a dick; just keepin' it real.

[Dyscivist 5686]

He got thx for posting it.... So........

Well, I was posting my opinion, so...

Also, I hate that image. I only used it because of his use of it in the Oasis goodbye thread.

[Balthazar 15]

I also, thought the final scene was cool but would have felt more powerful if he didn't pause, and instead just smashed the mirror as soon as it hit the ground, maybe slow motion or something, i don't know, it just felt delayed and to me it felt like it let some of the moment slip away.

[Dojima 7619]

I didn't really get the point of the final scene. Maybe it was a nod to Office Space. Thought the eye in the mirror was way over the top as well.

[Ace 51]

Watched it again while taking a few notes. The main thing that makes the movie bad is that the payoff isn't great enough. It's actually not too bad until Jaden's anima shows up at around 6:48. The desire to figure out the plot is intriguing enough that one can overlook the low production levels and bad acting until that point.

On the subject of bad acting, it's really quite bad. It's difficult to delineate the exact manner in which the acting is poor. All I can say is that it's not believable in the slightest.

There're also numerous places in the film that have hard transitions or bad focus that I'm sure you know about. A couple things stood out to me that you may not be aware of, however. First is the fact that Jaden's constantly sniffling throughout the movie. I dunno if his character was supposed to have a cold or what, but the constant sniffling grew annoying. Secondly, his character is constantly messing with his hands or crossing and uncrossing his arms. It was unnecessary and a little distracting.

That's pretty much it, I guess. The best shot of the movie was around 3:59. It was artistic and useful. Could have been made better if his friends were looking at him, but the angle of the camera, lighting, and other aspects were good. Wasn't tryin' to be a dick; just keepin' it real.

Sorry for bring this post back to life, but I just found out that you replied.

What do you mean about the payoff?

If you are talking about the message or the outcome, I think that the ending wraps everything together quite well. Sure there are a few things that I would change now if I had the opportunity, but plot-wise I believe that the ending is well-suited. If you are talking about the message... well even though there is the message that I embedded into this film, you can really interpret it however you want.

About production quality... this was my first film lol. Are you talking about video quality, because compared to every single student-made film at my school, this is Cameron status. If you are talking about camera angles, I actually used a lot of angles from Citizen Kane (basically all of the bottom-up shots and a few more). I realize that some of the angles in the mirror scenes were kind of bland, but tech-wise, I had to play it safe. I have never masked before in Vegas, so I wanted to shoot the scenes in a very simple manner. No in the shower shots or shots from the side... I wanted to play it safe because even while filming, I didn't know how I was going to pull it off tech-wise... I just knew that it was possible to do so. If any other shot was bland, it was either due to the nature of the scene or because of the small time frame that we had.

RE could have been a shit-load better given the knowledge that I have now... but I shot this right after I got my first dslr and had to make a movie in about 3 days. I am not trying to bring myself down, but I do admit that I have a lot to learn. The main character (Dylan) was in a musical during production, and he only had 2 days (about 5 hours total) to shoot with us... that was NOT as much time as I wanted... not even half. The sniffles I could not handle. I wanted him to be my Jaden and we didn't have a choice really. This film was not even remotely supposed to be as good as I pictured it to be... but when I got the script from my writer and gathered the actors together, I knew that I could at least give it a shot. It wasn't until editing the movie that I thought that RE would have a chance at film festivals...

But hardships aside, teachers, film makers, animators, actors, and film critics all believed that RE was a very good movie. I thought that the acting was pretty good. The hand/arm movements establish character... if you think that it is annoying then don't watch a movie about a crazy-ass motherfucker who talks to his reflection... lol. The only thing that I would like to change is the ending. The golf club thing is kind of random, I get that. I think that if I had a plant of the club in the garage scene, it would connect everything a lot more. I would also show a shot of him going into the garage to grab the club... but overall, I am proud of my first film and will continue to make more. I realize that I have a lot to learn, so please don't criticize me as a veteran film maker... because I am not.

I realize that you are going to tell it how it is, but I don't think that what you said and how you said it was appropriate given that I am a newcomer to film. Sure tough criticism can be great, but only if specific. Telling a new film maker that their first film just plain out sucks is not good motivation. Even now, you are not being as specific as I would like. A lot of what you said has been kind of vague. If you don't want to take the time to explain how the acting is bad, or how the shots don't have a lot of technique then alright... but it is what it is.

I didn't really get the point of the final scene. Maybe it was a nod to Office Space. Thought the eye in the mirror was way over the top as well.

He is killing his conscious and in doing so kills himself completely.

Also, the eye in the mirror is symbolic.

Oh, and btw:

Suck it

[Guest J_MaFia]

Suck it

GOOD JOB, YOU DA MAN

[Dojima 7619]

If you don't want to take the time to explain how the acting is bad, or how the shots don't have a lot of technique then alright... but it is what it is.

How does one explain how acting is bad? It's simply not believable. That's really all there is to it. The actors do not make me feel immersed in the story. No part of their acting is like any interaction I've ever experienced in reality. Even though parts of the story are clearly unrealistic, their acting does not at all cause me to suspend my disbelief.

Also, the eye in the mirror is symbolic.

Of course it is, but it's overly dramatic.

Suck it

haha, if the award were enough to validate you, I don't think you would have made the extended reply. In my opinion, the film is still bad. Even when scaling it to someone your age and with your capabilities, I really can't rate it above average. GJ on the award, though.

[Ace 51]

How does one explain how acting is bad? It's simply not believable. That's really all there is to it. The actors do not make me feel immersed in the story. No part of their acting is like any interaction I've ever experienced in reality. Even though parts of the story are clearly unrealistic, their acting does not at all cause me to suspend my disbelief.

Movies are movies. Even when watching professional films I still catch myself thinking "ok, I would never say that" or "this is too dramatic." Movies have their own aura that differs from reality. Everyone in this film (including myself) have been in drama for several years. Sure they studied theater which differs a lot from film, but they all still know how to act. I'm not trying to counter your comment with this, I'm just pointing out that I can kind of understand your opinion. I think that years of theater acting has led me to be a bit over-dramatic when it comes to art.

Of course it is, but it's overly dramatic.

Compared to the other shots and the music... no.

haha, if the award were enough to validate you, I don't think you would have made the extended reply. In my opinion, the film is still bad. Even when scaling it to someone your age and with your capabilities, I really can't rate it above average. GJ on the award, though.

Just because I wanted to defend myself doesn't mean that an award won't validate my words. Posting the picture alone would not have done any good and you probably would have said something dickish like "cool story bro, it's still bad."

[Dojima 7619]

Movies are movies. Even when watching professional films I still catch myself thinking "ok, I would never say that" or "this is too dramatic."

Yeah, unless intentional, those are called bad movies.